Cannes Film Festival update: Event not cancelled but unlikely to take place, according to insider

Decision won't be made about 2020 event until April

The Cannes Film Festival has not yet been cancelled because of coronavirus, but an insider has stressed it’s extremely unlikely it will take place following the pandemic.

A new report with the headline “Le Festival de Cannes n’aura pas lieu” – which translates as “Cannes Festival is not going to take place” – started doing the rounds on Saturday afternoon (14 March).

However, it has only been reported that an official decision will not be made until 15 April, when the full programme is set to be unveiled.

The organisers’ decision will then be reported the following day.

Despite the fact the festival is yet to be called of, an official associated with Cannes said that “it will be difficult, if not impossible to select films from China, Iran etc knowing that actors can’t move around”.

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The insider added that, should the event proceed, "showing the films in a large room will not longer be authorised."

Another point to note is that the event’s sponsors are reportedly hoping it will be cancelled so they do not have to be involved in a festival under intense scrutiny.

Should Cannes go ahead, it will be one of the only events to have evaded cancellation following the coronavirus pandemic, which has been labelled the ”biggest health crisis in a century” by French president Emmanuel Macron

Speaking after the French government’s ban on gatherings of more than 100 people on Friday (13 April), a festival spokesperson said: “The latest restriction comes from a plan (by the government) that we hope will start to bear results in April, and by then we will know if the events scheduled for May, at Cannes and elsewhere, will be maintained.”

The festival’s director Thierry Fremaux said in an interview with French newspaper Le Monde that preparations were continuing with the hope that coronavirus cases will start decreasing by May.

“We have a tradition of saying the Cannes Film Festival is the first sign of summertime,” he said. ”To remain optimistic and keep our fighting spirit, let’s say that this year Cannes will be the first world event where we’ll (celebrate) life again.”

Find a full list of everything that’s been cancelled or postponed in the wake of the outbreak here.